September 11, 2007

One of my favorite things in the world is The Master’s College. One of my favorite things about TMC is chapel. And one of my favorite things about chapel is Dorm Chapel. A few times a semester, instead of meeting in the gym with the entire student body, all the students divide into their dorms for chapel. While chapel is always sweet, I have particularly loved the mornings I have spent with the men of Hotchkiss in BSC 100. Hotchkiss Men dorm chapel usually consists of singing, testimonies, a word of exhortation from Ona (our RD), and an offering for Yiga (the Compassion International child we sponsor.)

Last Friday, Ona ended dorm chapel with “23 Ways to Be Lame.” Clearly, he was exhorting us to stay away from these ways of lame spiritual living. One particular way that stood out to me was #15–Don’t share the gospel. It seems that evangelism is always a convicting topic for me. It is so easy for me to get comfortable and forget about the world around me that is perishing without Christ. That’s lame.

Along with Ona’s exhortation came an opportunity. Earlier in dorm chapel our ASB Chaplain, Ryan Patterson, presented an opportunity to share the gospel that night through Skid Row Ministry. After debating for while (and taking a nap after class), I decided to go. So Friday night came, I drove downtown with friends, we passed out tacos, we shared the gospel, and we came back.

I do not have any incredible stories to tell about Friday night. Nothing too monumental happened. I did not see anyone get miraculously changed. But as I went to bed late that night, I knew that I had changed. My trip to Skid Row taught me the importance of action. Again, it is easy for me to make excuses like “Going down to Skid Row on one Friday night won’t make a difference” or “That person probably won’t listen” or “There is no way I could follow up with this person, so why share the gospel at all.”

All of those excuses are lame.

Yes, there are certainly things to be said for commitment, persistence, lifestyle, and follow-up in evangelism, but another crucial element is simply getting of your rear and taking the gospel to the streets. There are so many things I do not know about evangelism–so many ways I know the Lord will have to lead. But it’s easier to be led by the Lord when you are moving towards him and towards others than when you are sitting on the sidelines.

Moral of the story: Don’t be spiritually lame. Get in the game. Share the gospel.